Electronic Arts (EA) has dominated the market for sports video games for many years, and one of its most popular properties is the Madden series. Each annual release for the hit American pro football franchise consistently proves to be a big hit with fans of the sport around the world, and the latest entry — EA Sports Madden NFL 25 — is now just a few days away from launching.

Ahead of that release, many are wondering when exactly it's coming out, along with when Early Access for the game will open, how they can preload the football sim, and more. You'll find all of that information and more in the below guide, complete with exact release dates and times, a countdown clock, and other noteworthy details.

What is EA Sports Madden NFL 25?

EA Sports Madden NFL 25 is the latest in the Madden series — a gaming franchise that's been running since the release of John Madden Football nearly 40 years ago in 1988. Compared to other American football games that are more arcade-like in nature, the Madden games place a strong emphasis on playbooks and strategy and feature simulation-heavy mechanics and game modes. For example, Franchise Mode allows you to manage a team during the NFL draft, season, and playoffs, and individual player stats have a sizable impact on how games play out.

Annual Madden releases typically have new graphical improvements and features to draw fans of the franchise to the latest title, and this year's highlight is BOOM Tech — an overhauled tackling system that uses physics simulations to determine the outcome of every collision on the field. Whether or not a tackle succeeds or is broken is determined by speed, forward momentum, and timing, with special moves like dives and stiff arms adding further depth.

Madden NFL 25 is available to preorder now for $69.99, and will soon be available to play on Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, Windows PC (Steam and the EA App), PS5, and PS4. Preordering the game gives you the Christian McCaffrey Elite Player Item, the choice of 2 Strategy Items, Superstar Drip Gear, and a Legendary XP Boost when it launches.

EA Sports Madden NFL 25: Release date and time Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce as he appears in Madden NFL 25. (Image credit: Electronic Arts)

The wait for EA Sports Madden NFL 25 is almost over, as the game is officially scheduled to launch on August 16, 2024. More specifically, kickoff is actually on August 15 at 9:00 p.m. PT, so depending on where you live, you may be able to jump in on the evening before the listed release date.

Below, you'll find a short table that lists when you'll be able to play Madden NFL 25 in each major time zone. Note that if your time zone isn't on it, you can use this nifty time zone converter to figure out when the game will unlock in your region.

EA Sports Madden NFL 25: Early Access launch time The Kansas City Chiefs and the Philadelphia Eagles face off in Madden NFL 25. (Image credit: Electronic Arts)

Like most of EA's games, EA Sports Madden NFL 25 is available to play several days ahead of its official release date and time thanks to an Early Access offer for select preorder customers. Officially, Early Access begins on August 13, but it actually went live on August 12 at 1:00 p.m. PT — that means it's available now!

How to play EA Sports Madden NFL 25 early

While Early Access is now available for Madden NFL 25, you can't actually take advantage of it to play early unless you preorder the Deluxe Edition or MVP Bundle version of the game. The former is $99.99 ($91.19 at CDKeys right now for Xbox players) and includes the base game, Early Access, and 4600 Madden Points, while the latter is a $149.99 ($133.89 at CDKeys for EU Xbox players) bundle that features both the Deluxe Edition of Madden NFL 25 and the Deluxe Edition of the recently released and very popular EA Sports College Football 25.

If you're playing on PC, you also have the option of subscribing to EA Play Pro, the highest tier of EA's Xbox Game Pass-like gaming subscription service EA Play that's exclusive to the platform. By doing so, you'll get Early Access as if you'd purchased the Deluxe Edition or the MVP Edition. EA Play Pro costs $16.99/month to join.

Something important to note about the MVP Bundle is that while Madden NFL 25 is playable on both last-gen (Xbox One, PS4) and current-gen (Xbox Series X|S, PS5) consoles, College Football 25 is only available on Xbox Series X|S and PS5. Therefore, only buy this bundle if you have a current-gen system or are planning to get one soon.

Does Madden NFL 25 have an EA Play free trial?Like most EA games, Madden NFL 25 has a 10-hour free trial that you can access if you're subscribed to EA Play (notably, EA Play is included with Xbox Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass). This free trial is available during the ongoing Madden NFL 25 Early Access period, so you don't have to wait until August 16 to try it out. EA Sports Madden NFL 25: Countdown How to preload EA Sports Madden NFL 25 Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson as he appears in Madden NFL 25. (Image credit: Electronic Arts)

Preloads (also often referred to as pre-downloads) are a feature that allows players to download and install new games ahead of their official release dates, making it easy for them to jump in and start playing as soon as the title unlocks. This is useful for everyone, but it's particularly helpful for anyone who has a slow internet connection.

Not every game has preloads available, but luckily, EA Sports Madden NFL 25 does, and preloads for it are live now on all platforms. In order to take advantage of them, you'll first need to make sure you've preordered the game. After doing so, you can preload Madden NFL 25 by searching for it on Xbox, PlayStation, the EA App, or Steam and then selecting the option to download it.

EA Sports Madden NFL 25: Storage requirements Running back Derrick Henry breaks a tackle in Madden NFL 25. (Image credit: Electronic Arts)

The file size of EA Sports Madden NFL 25 varies depending on which platform you're playing it on, but ultimately, you'll need about 50-70GB of free space in order to download and install the game. If you need more storage, consider getting one of the best SSDs or freeing up some hard drive space (uninstalling games you're not actively playing is a great way to do this).

EA Sports Madden NFL 25 is coming to Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, Windows PC, PS5, and PS4 on August 16, and will likely be one of the best Xbox games and best PC games to play this year if you're a huge football fan. Preorders for it are live now, and getting the Deluxe Edition or MVP Bundle will let you start playing now with Early Access.